The Promise
by Kitty Kat Yuki
Summary: Haruka finally goes against Rin in the prefectural race, however, she's not exactly in top shape. While sick, she continues to do the race all because of the promise she made to Rin. Fem!Haruka, slight HaruxRin, possible OOC!Rin? Rated T for a few curses and because I'm paranoid. ONESHOT!


(Haruka's POV)

**_Breathe in, breathe out._**

The phrase repeated itself, racking Haruka's mind, reminding her to breathe. Despite that each ragged intake of breath was consuming that much more of her already limited supply of energy.

**_You can't back out now. You promised Rin._**

The girl's eyes fluttered closed in an attempt to clear the fuzzy world that was part of her clouded vision.

Moments treaded by, and her eyes slowly opened.

"Damn it…."The curse left her lips immediately. If anything, her vision was now far worse than it had been before.

**_I have to race… I can't let this stop me!_**

With the silent reminder, Haruka ran a clammy hand through her bangs, pulling the sticky tresses from her damp forehead.

"Haruka,"

The girl's gaze ventured forward, making direct contact with maroon orbs.

With every ounce of raw power in her body, she straightened herself upward, what seemed to be a proud stance. "I'm here as promised, Rin." She said, struggling to keep her voice from sounding strained.

Rin drew closer, stopping his trek once he stood a meter in front of Haruka.

A scoff filled her ears, followed by the sound of his smug arrogant voice. "Of course, though, you should be thanking me. I had to keep my qualifying time low so that we could be in the same heat." He smirked, flashing her a glimpse of his pearly shark teeth.

Haruka clenched her fists tightly at her side, glaring at boy with the fiercest look she could muster. "I would have still gone against you in the finals!"

Rin's amusement intensified at the response, closing the last bit of remaining space that was between him and the girl, he leaned in close to her ear, his breath trickling down the side of her neck. "There's no guarantee, you would have made it that far." He whispered. Pulling his head back, and walking past her, taking care to make sure their shoulders brushed in the process.

A low growl erupted from Haruka's throat. "I'm not going to lose against him." She vowed, beginning the long trek towards the locker room. "Today, I will become free."

~o~

Haruka stood atop of her block, long inky black hair tied tightly into a ponytail. She glanced sideways towards Rin, her azure eyes locking with his sanguineous ones.

The boy shot her a cocky smirk, which she countered with a harsh glare; however, it was cut short.

The girl's vision swarmed around her, the world feeling as though it was shaking nearly throwing her so off balance that she almost fell into the pool.

**_Everything's spinning…_**

Haruka snapped her eyes shut in a feeble attempt to stop the overwhelming sensation that made her stomach churn and her body lurch.

She didn't even have to look, to know that Rin was now smirking at her current state.

"SET!"

The girl tore herself from her train of thought, gnawing on her bottom lip, as she knelt down with her hands gripping the top of the block. Her chest was now searing with a new-found level of pain, her lungs and stomach burning in protest at the change in positioning.

"GO!"

In a matter of seconds, Haruka had leaped out into the water, her form closely resembling that of a dolphin. Back arched at the perfect angle, arms stretched out forward at the perfect length, and legs moving at a nearly unbeatable pace.

It wasn't long until her upper body was screaming in protest, begging her arms to cease their lapping against the water. She refused to give in to the demands. She was too far in this now to give up and go home.

It wasn't just a personal thing now, it was for the club, her school, AND herself.

Momentarily glancing to the side, she saw that Rin was picking up his speed.

She took a gulp, and began to increase her own speed. Each stroke she now made was making it harder for her to breathe, each time she went to draw in a breath of air; she would take in three times the water instead.

Her attempt at going faster was beginning to back fire, only causing her to go slower instead.

**_It's only the first leg! COME ON!_**

Willing her arms and legs to go even faster, she glanced over again, hoping to see Rin far behind. Instead, she saw him zooming past her in the opposite direction, having already completed the turn.

A smug smirk was planted on his face, only adding fuel to Haruka's will to win.

With a last ditch of effort, she propelled herself at top speed off of the wall, and towards Rin.

Now, they were both neck and neck, each fighting to overtake the other, and earn victory.

Dipping out to take a breath, she could hear Makoto and the rest of the swim club cheering her on.

**_Almost there….._**

Haruka tried to move her arms even faster than before, bringing forth a sensation throughout her body that was nearly the name as a thousand knives skewering her entire body.

**_FINSHED!_**

The girl latched onto the edge of the pool, holding onto it as if it was life support. Her breaths ragged and heavy, more so than they had been earlier that day. Each intake taking longer to carry out than the last.

Slowly, she haphazardly looked up at the scoreboard, staring at her name hoping for the best….

**S_econd._**

"Haruka,"

Haruka tore her gaze from the board; downwards to the boy looking at her. "

I win. This means that I'll never swim with you again…. Never,"

Every ounce of pain that Haruka had endured throughout that entire day now seemed miniscule. The level of shock outweighed everything. Watching Rin's retreating form out of her peripheral vision only made it worse.

"R-Rin…."The name left her throat in a barely audible whimper, the remainder of her words getting hitched in the back of her throat where they would never be heard.

~o~

Haruka was stumbling down the long string of hallways that led to the locker rooms, her drenched figure, leaving droplets of water behind in her wake.

**_I've got to find Rin…_**

She couldn't stop, she had to see Rin. Up until now, she had refused to believe it, but she loved him… It wasn't the fake sort either, she truly loved and cared for Rin. How her heart made all of the pain she'd ever been through feel like nothing after they had completed the race, was proof enough.

Haruka's vision began to blur again, followed by a frenzy of coughs that began to rack her body, bringing her against the wall for support. Each cough seemed to tear through the muscle on her chest, bringing with it a new sense of pain.

Glancing down at her arm, through her foggy sight, she was able to make out the faintest shade of red, sprinkled over her forearm.

**_Blood…? _**

The girl's cerulean eyes were now the size of the ocean.

**_I thought it was just a cold… What is it? Pneumonia, bronchitis? _**

An even greater pain tore her away from her thoughts, forcing her to slouch against the wall and claw at her chest.

(Rin's POV)

Rin had been walking from the locker rooms, when the loud painful sound of a woman screaming filled his ears. Raising an eyebrow, the boy curiously followed after the source of the sound.

**_What the hell could be going on?_**

He questioned himself silently, running a stream of possible scenarios through his head of what could be going on. Listening closely, he was also able to hear a conversation arise.

"A-Are you alright?"

"Y…Yeah… I…I'm alright…. J…Just go away."

The final statement brought Rin's curiosity to new peaks. Doing a quick intake of air, he soon found the oh-so familiar scent of iron fill his nostrils.

**_Blood?_**

The boy took off running, his footsteps filling the silence that had begun to shroud the hallway.

Reaching the end, he could faintly see a silhouette of a person leaning against the wall.

Haruka.

Her long jet-black hair was covering her face, with bits of blood lingering at the corners of her rosy lips, and adorning her forearm, swimsuit, and the floor in front of her.

"Haruka?" Rin asked, not willing to believe that it was indeed the girl he had just raced, that was lying against the wall, looking ready to drop at any moment.

Haruka's head snapped up at the sound of his voice, slowly leaning her head back so she could glance over at him.

Rin's eyes widened at the sight of her ghostly pale skin contrasting the crimson blood dotting the corners of her lips.

The girl began to make an attempt to push herself off of the wall, only to fail and begin toppling forward towards the ground.

At an amazing speed, Rin had managed to catch Haruka, holding her against his chest. Wrapping one arm around her waist to keep her steady, the other he pressed the other to her forehead to find that it was incredibly warm.

"Oi! You're burning up! Why did you come?" Rin asked, his voice nearing a low guttural growl. "Why aren't you at home Haruka?" He continued, demanding the girl to answer him.

Haruka glanced up at Rin opening her mouth to speak, "I promised you…." She muttered softly, taking in a deep ragged breath, before passing out into the boy's arms.

Rin heaved a heavy sigh, leaning his head down, placing a soft kiss on top of the girl's flaming forehead.

"I guess I'll have to take you to the other's now…"

* * *

**Well, that's that. This was just a little one-shot idea I had got while watching free!**

**I really wanted to genderbend Haru... and this was the result xD**

**I hope it wasn't too terrible, because I'm sure it was God-Awful.**

**I might make a sequel, I dunno. It's up to if people actually review and tell me that they like this story or not.**

**I'm up for suggestions of all kinds! **


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